The members of Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Committee (PAJC) met with the Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on the sidelines of their sixth track 2 meeting in Islamabad. Mr. Sartaj Aziz underlined Pakistan’s counter terrorism efforts and its resolve to not let its soil be used against any other country.
“I am convinced that peace in Afghanistan is critical to peace in Pakistan”, he said while adding that peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan is in Pakistan’s interest.
Pakistan is facing a very serious situation and has suffered a lot at the hands of terrorism. “Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to and finalized a coordination mechanism to combat terrorism and fight the common enemy”, Aziz said while adding that the two sides should focus on implementation of the agreed mechanism for engagement to address the issues of security, counter-terrorism and border management.
The trust cannot be restored unless there is a bilateral interaction between two countries. He said that the multilateral occasions are a great opportunity to break the ice and reduce tensions between the two countries. Pakistan has achieved success in the counter-terrorism than any other country and its efforts must be acknowledged. Pakistan is making all out efforts against terrorism and to make sure that its land is not used against any other country. The track 2 initiatives have proven usefulness in difficult situations; especially when the relations at the official level are not good.
Reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to continued efforts and support for lasting peace in Afghanistan, Aziz underlined the importance of politically negotiated settlement under an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process for resolution of Afghan conflict.
The PAJC delegation stressed on the need for continuous people to people contacts for strengthening Pak-Afghan bilateral ties.
The visiting Afghan delegates said that they wanted peaceful Afghanistan as it had impact on both sides. The border closure hurts both Pakistan and Afghanistan. It negatively affects both countries and can escalate tensions. The discussions about the fate of Afghanistan should be inclusive. They also said that Pakistan can play a vital role for solution to the Afghan problem. They also thanked Pakistan for showing exceptional hospitality in hosting the Afghan refugees. “Both countries should start from common grounds and take small but meaningful steps forward”, they stressed. The Afghan delegation requested Aziz that it would be an important goodwill gesture if the he can invite his counterpart or the Commerce Minister to hold the overdue APTCA and JEC meetings in Islamabad instead of Kabul. Aziz agreed that the meetings are very important to start the government level dialogue again, but questioned them that if the Afghanistan Government is ready to reciprocate the gesture, adding: “It will look very embarrassing for us if we extend the invitation and they decline and do not come”.
The PAJC delegation stressed on the need for continuous people to people contacts for strengthening Pak-Afghan bilateral ties.
Dr. Shoaib Suddle, the head of the Pakistan delegation presented and shared the joint declaration of final policy recommendations of “Beyond Boundaries”.
